Skiing technical expert provides insights through photos

Skiers who want a performance edge will have help in the form of full-color photos and tips from one of the sport’s great technical experts. Ron LeMaster releases Ultimate Skiing (Human Kinetics, 2009) in which he not only provides advice but also illustrates technique through one-of-a-kind photo montages and 3-D diagrams of the world’s greatest skiers.

While LeMaster, a technical advisor to the U.S. ski team, explains the basic mechanics of the sport and how to apply them in the real world of skiing, he also details how to manipulate skis, boots and poles on the steepest slopes, in monster mogul fields and through the deepest powder. LeMaster’s technique tips and kinesthetic cues help translate the sensation of each movement so readers know how proper technique should feel.

"You don’t need formal training in physics or kinesiology to be a good skier," says LeMaster, who also authored The Skier’s Edge (Human Kinetics, 1999). "The mechanics of skiing are pretty simple and can be explained in terms of everyday experience and what you feel when you ski."

LeMaster details the role of equipment, particularly since the "shaped ski revolution," but he underscores that with few exceptions, the best skiers still make the same movements they have always made. "What has changed," he explains, "is the relative amplitudes of some movements, how often they are made, and the timing of these actions." He discusses these changes--and how the new skis have brought them about--in detail in Ultimate Skiing.

While LeMaster points to the new generation of skis as a major need for writing Ultimate Skiing, he also credits the world class athletes and individuals with whom he has been able to work since he wrote The Skiers’ Edge. "They have given me opportunities to learn that I could have only dreamed of; they have shared their knowledge and wisdom and disagreed constructively with me when it mattered," he says. "I want to pass this on."